Vollständiges Metamorphose-Handbuch

Kapitel 16

I went to great lengths to help this parrot grow new feathers.

Besides constantly supplementing it with various inorganic salts, trace elements, and vitamins, I also wash its food and change its bedding every day, and frequently spray water on the cage to maintain a certain level of humidity.

But its feathers continued to fall out, fewer and fewer. It kept looking at me.

That day, I picked up the iron cage, went out of the house, and inquired about the bird market.

The original bird market was located at Yuting Bridge, but it was recently shut down. Now, bird markets in Beijing are starting to go underground.

Finally, I found a Blackbird City in Guanyuan.

The weather was great, but there were so many people, it was noisy and chaotic, and with the birds chirping, it was a complete mess.

There are so many parrots here, and they all have different calls and appearances.

Each parrot is labeled—small ones include grey-headed parrots, monk parakeets, cockatiels, lovebirds, barred parrots, red-rumped parrots, four-rose parrots, and Senegal parrots; medium-sized ones include cockatoos and chattering lorikeets; and even large ones include scarlet macaws…

I looked down at the parrot I had brought and felt ashamed.

Its feathers are almost gone, like a person with alopecia areata.

It seemed to be very ill; it no longer looked at me, but rather, sickly, it surveyed this chaotic world and the densely packed swarms of its kind.

I wandered around for more than half an hour, and only one old man came over to take a look.

"What kind of breed is this?" he asked.

"I don't know either."

“I’ve been going to the bird market for decades and I’ve never seen anything like this before. This is an eye-opener.” He said, bending down as he did so, “They’ve almost lost all their feathers.”

"I've never known how to treat it."

"Can it talk?"

"meeting."

As soon as I finished speaking, it suddenly looked up at me.

"Could you demonstrate this for me?"

"...I'll give it a try."

I crouched down, looked into its red eyes, and whispered, "Such a beautiful flower."

It stared at me without saying a word.

I added, "For so many years, I've been secretly good to you..."

A cold glint flashed in its eyes.

I thought for a moment, then suddenly said viciously, "I'll run you over."

It finally turned its head away.

The old man straightened up and said dismissively, "What is this? It looks like a chicken." Then he got up to leave.

I said, "Sir, how about this, I don't want a single penny, I'll give it to you for free."

He suddenly turned around, his eyes shooting over me, which immediately reminded me of the magician's last look.

He looked at me for a while, then wisely shook his head.

I gave an awkward smile and asked, "Why don't you want it?"

He smiled and said, "Why are you giving it away?"

I didn't know how to answer for a moment.

He took a few steps back and lowered his voice, saying, "Let me tell you why I don't want it—I think its appearance is unlucky. You should just throw it away."

After saying that, he left without looking back.

I called Mr. Nian on my drive home. He's flying to Hong Kong today.

"Mr. Nian, have you boarded the plane yet?"

"I'm boarding. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Excuse me, does your classmate Wang Xin work in a government agency?"

"no."

What about the past?

"It wasn't like that in the past either."

I was a little stunned, and asked again, "Is this Wang Xin a man or a woman?"

"It's a woman."

noisy

This parrot came home with me again.

Oh, it's not Wang Xin, it's just a parrot, a terrifying parrot. It has no name.

The fact that the nameless magician left it to me was no accident; it must have been premeditated.

Even if I release it, it won't help; it will just fly back. Even if I live on the 100th floor or in the basement, I still can't get rid of it.

I don't know what to do.

That night, I had another dream.

I dreamt that I was killing it.

I positioned its head in a very nice way and slowly cut its neck with the knife.

Its head fell off, but it didn't die. It opened its eyes wide, trying to figure out what I was going to do.

I put its body into a fire, and the few feathers burned to ashes instantly. Then, its flesh made a sizzling sound and soon smelled burnt.

It slowly turned its head and stared intently at its charred body.

Soon, its meat will be cooked, and I'm going to eat it right in front of it. I don't want to add salt, and I don't have any with me. It might taste terrible, but I'm determined to eat it.

I think it will be able to talk then...

What will it say?

Finally, I pulled its charred body out of the fire and lay down to blow on it. After a while, it wasn't so hot anymore. I picked it up, looked into its eyes, and began to eat it, bite by bite…

It stared at me intently.

I ate slowly, and eventually felt a little nauseous, but by then I was almost done. I put the last bite into my mouth and took out a snow-white napkin to wipe my hands.

It was left with only a head, or rather, only a face. That face suddenly smiled.

I was startled and woke up immediately.

The room was dark and quiet. The parrot made not a sound.

But I couldn't sleep. I put my arm under my head and started thinking about what to do with the parrot.

Honestly, I definitely couldn't bring myself to kill it.

However, I can't leave it in my house forever.

Many parrots live longer than people, and I don't want to live with terror day and night for the rest of my life.

The terrifying parrot (9)

A lifetime is long, because this one night is so long...

Time ticked by, the second hand of my watch moving forward. I don't know how much time had passed, but suddenly I heard the parrot speak. In the darkness, it exclaimed softly, "My goodness! So many parrots!"

I shuddered.

Could it be that it's asleep and dreaming about the bird market during the day, and is talking in its sleep?

This sentence was originally a human exclamation, but when it is spoken, it sends chills down one's spine, and the more you think about it, the more terrifying it becomes!

What's even stranger is that I then faintly heard the chirping of many birds in the living room. The sounds became clearer and louder, as if the whole house was full of parrots!

They were colorful and dazzling; some were pruning each other's feathers, some were chasing and playing, some were calling to their friends, and some were chatting happily...

I shook my head vigorously, fully waking up, and the sound gradually faded away.

I turned on the light and walked out step by step, only to find that the parrot was no longer on the perch in the cage.

I slowly approached and saw it lying on the wooden board at the bottom of the cage, dead. It was completely bald, without a single hair on its body.

You are so beautiful

I put the parrot's naked carcass in the car and drove to the countryside.

The scenery around Beijing is picturesque. Surprisingly, I was the only car on the road.

I pressed the PLAY button and listened to that old song:

How could I have fallen for you?

I asked myself

I can give up anything

It's hard to leave today.

Oh, Cinderella

My Cinderella

I always hurt you.

I'm always cruel

I told you not to take it seriously.

Because I can't believe it

You are so beautiful

And you are extremely cute.

Perhaps you have never

My heart aches when I think about it.